Trademark facts for kids

A trademark is like a special sign that helps people know which products or services come from a certain business. It can be a name, a word, a phrase, a symbol, a logo, a design, or even a picture. Only the business that owns the trademark can use it on their products.

For example, Coca-Cola and Coke are trademark names for a popular drink. The Coca-Cola Company owns these names. No other company can use them or names that sound too similar. Other companies can make a similar drink, like colas, but they must use a different name, such as Pepsi.

Another example is the Nike company. They make sports gear like shoes and clothes. The "swoosh" symbol you see on their products is their trademark. Famous trademarks like Coca-Cola and Nike help people recognize a whole family of products from one brand.

Trademarks and the Law

Trademarks are protected by law. This means there are rules to keep them safe from being used by others without permission.

How to Get a Trademark

In some countries, a person or company can get a trademark just by using the name, word, phrase, symbol, logo, design, or picture on their products.

Trademarks can also be officially listed, which is called "registering" them. To do this, a business tells its government that it wants to use a certain sign as a trademark for its products. If no one else is already using that sign for similar products, the government will officially list it. Once a trademark is registered, no one else can use it for those specific products.

Using Someone Else's Trademark

If someone uses a trademark in a wrong way, the trademark owner can take them to court. If a court decides the person was not allowed to use the trademark, they might have to pay money to the trademark owner for the harm caused.

Sometimes, another person might want to use a trademark they don't own. They can ask the trademark owner for permission. The owner can give them a special permission called a license. The person usually has to pay the trademark owner some money for this license. This payment might be a small part of the cost of each product they sell, called a royalty. For example, someone might pay Nike 10% of the cost of each pair of shoes they sell to use the Swoosh symbol.

Showing a Trademark

When people write a word or show a picture that is a trademark, they should show that it is a trademark. If a trademark is not registered, they can write "Trademark," use the abbreviation "TM," or use the symbol ™ on their products.

If a trademark is registered, they can use the letter R in a circle symbol: "®". They can also say it is a "registered trademark" or use the abbreviation "Reg."

Service Marks: Trademarks for Services

Trademarks are used for products. But what about businesses that do things for people instead of making things? These are called service providers. They can get a service mark instead of a trademark. When people write or show a service mark, they can use the service mark symbol: "℠".

Trademark Laws Around the World

In the United States, the main law for trademarks is the Lanham Act. In Germany, it's called the Markengesetz.

Images for kids

• 

  Bass Brewery's logo became the first image to be registered as a trademark in the UK, in 1876

• 

  A product with the "Linux" name, which does not break the trademark rules set by Linus Torvalds, because it's for a different type of product.

See also

In Spanish: Marca (registro) para niños